Just Wish It All Away
by RiverIsTheMagicWord
Summary: Takes place during "Wishmasters". As seen in the episode, Cole infiltrates the Misfortune's Keep and finds Jay hiding in Nadakhan's quarters. However, in this version of the episode, Jay is a lot more injured from Scrap n' Tap than he lets on about. It's up to Cole to determine just how badly hurt Jay is, as he struggles to come to terms with the thought of losing his best friend.
1. Chapter 1: The Key is to Get Out Alive

Cole crept across the wooden planks of the _Misfortune's Keep_ with little difficulty, reveling in his newfound ability to turn invisible. In fact, he was enjoying himself so much, that he nearly gave himself away when he decided to trip an unsuspecting crew member. The disoriented pirate fell backwards onto the deck, a bewildered expression on his face. A snicker nearly escaped Cole's mouth, but he bit it back.

 _Alright, Cole, focus,_ he told himself, shaking his head to clear his thoughts _. Find Jay, and get out of here._

After taking several more cautious steps forward, Cole stumbled upon his destination. Nadakhan's personal quarters loomed directly before him, the wooden door sealed tightly shut. A grin of satisfaction graced Cole's features as he tried the knob. It was locked. The smile slipped off the earth ninja's face as he tried again.

After several unsuccessful attempts at opening the door, Cole leaned against it, sagging with defeat. In an instant, he was through the door. Startled, the earth ninja lost his balance and landed squarely on his backside. Face-palming himself, Cole stood up and shook himself off.

 _Idiot,_ he inwardly spat. _You can walk through walls, remember?_

Satiated with the fact that no one had seen his little mishap, Cole allowed himself to be seen, and placed his hands on his hips, surveying the room. A dinner table lay sprawled at the far end of the room, and several chests of drawers littered the opposite wall. A single bed lay tucked away in a corner, and a closet brandishing a brightly colored door lay adjacent to the door that Cole had entered from.

"Cole?"

The earth ninja snapped his head up at the weak voice. A ragged cough followed the call of his name, and Cole felt his shoulders tense up of their own accord.

"Jay?" he whispered, feeling his heart begin to beat faster.

"Cole!" the voice repeated.

By turning his head, Cole could see his best friend crawling out from the space between two crates, dragging himself forward by his hands. His right eye was covered by what appeared to be a black eyepatch, and one of his ankles was chained tightly to a ball of venge stone. His normally well-kept auburn locks were in apparent disarray, and his uncovered eye looked sunken and hollow.

"Jay?" Cole repeated, fighting to keep a glimmer of worry from his even tone, "are you alright?"

"What do you think?" Jay retorted. His voice was tired and half-hearted, lacking its usual sarcasm.

Shaking himself out of his transfixed state, Cole rushed over to his friend, kneeling down so that the two were at eye-level with each other. "Hey," he murmured softly, wrapping Jay in a hug. The blue ninja sighed with contentment and relaxed against Cole's chest.

"Cole," he muttered, repeating the name like a broken mantra. Too weak to return his friend's embrace, he sat listlessly on the floor, held up solely by Cole's strong arms.

Fearing that the blue ninja was about to pass out, Cole got back to his feet, dragging a reluctant Jay up with him. "Let's get out of here," he announced, a sense of superiority edging its way back into his voice.

Jay merely nodded his agreement, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. "Good idea," he muttered sluggishly.

Rubbing his hands together, Cole eyed the offensive piece of venge stone attached to his friend's leg. With a burst of elemental energy, he cut the chain in two. The ball rolled away toward the bed in the corner, and Jay noticeably relaxed as it disappeared from view. A faint glimmer of electricity wound its way freely through his hands, reveling in its release from captivity.

"Er, what exactly happened to your eye?" Cole asked, feeling the need to start a conversation. He let go of Jay, taking a step back. Jay stumbled once, but shakily regained his footing.

"Scrap n' Tap," Jay answered cryptically, self-consciously holding a hand to his patched eye.

With a jolt of horror, Cole noticed three distinct slash marks running across the back of Jay's left hand. Dried blood was caked onto the wound, and the sight made Cole's stomach churn. An unfamiliar feeling of worry, and something else, something undefinable, burned in Cole's heart.

"Your hand!" he gasped out, feeling like he was going to lose his lunch.

Grimacing, Jay pulled his hand away and observed the cuts with an indifferent stare. "Scrap n' Tap," he intoned flatly.

"What?" Cole cried out, desperation seeping into his voice.

"Nadakhan wants me to make my last wish," Jay told Cole, beginning to sway on his feet. "He wants me to wish it all away. He thought that by pitting me against his crew members I would give up, and make my final wish." At this, Jay fixed the earth ninja with a small smile. "But a ninja never quits!"

Cole returned the smile with a little more effort, mind racing. Exactly how badly was his friend hurt? Hastily banishing the image of Jay closing his eyes for the last time from his brain, Cole straightened his back and shook a strand of hair out of his eyes.

"Come on," he bit out tersely, heading for the door.

Jay followed closely behind, squinting as his eyes began to lose their focus. Cole's backside swam in and out of view.

In a sudden moment, voices drifted into the room. Cole's eyes widened in terror, and he whirled around to face Jay. "Hide!" he commanded sharply, shoving the blue ninja towards the closet, forgetting about Jay's injuries for a brief second.

Jay staggered forward and fell to the ground, gasping with discomfort as he heard the closet door shut quietly behind him.

Cole looked around wildly before diving behind the bed, casting a glance at the venge stone ball, to make sure that it was out of sight.

The two ninja hid none too soon, as the door to Nadakhan's quarters burst open, and the djinn himself floated into the room. His piercing gaze swept once around the room before he relaxed his grip on the Djinn Blade. Flintlocke pattered in behind his captain, looking down at his two treasured pistols.

"Today, I will finally win my bride," Nadakhan announced grandly, hovering next to the dinner table as he raked his eyes over a map on the wall.

"You bet, Captain," Flintlocke added in, removing the magazine from one of his guns.

"She will be mine," Nadakhan continued, clasping his four hands behind his back.

"Certainly," Flintlocke tossed out. By this point, he was leisurely loading the magazine with several bullets, watching as the ammunition slid neatly into their places.

Nadakhan spun around, the orange, flame-like substance below his torso fluttering in the still air. "I will need Dogshank on this task," he instructed, fixing his second-in-command with a look. "You as well, Flintlocke."

With a loud click, Flintlocke slammed the magazine back into place with a less-than delicate gesture. "Of course, Captain," he responded dutifully.

"I must look appropriate for my new bride, no?" Nadakhan asked to no one in particular, gliding over to his closet door. Flintlocke followed his captain's movements with a nonchalant gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall.

Cole stuffed back a scream, helplessly observing Nadakhan inch closer to Jay's hiding place from his position behind the bed. Thoughts galloped through his brain at one million miles per hour, each one a different scenario of the two of them getting caught and killed.

Just before the djinn could open the door to find his almost-escaped prisoner, a gust of wind rocked the _Misfortune's Keep_. Momentarily distracted, Nadakhan let go of the door handle. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the severed venge stone ball rolling around gleefully near the wall.

"GAH!" the djinn screamed, clenching all four hands into fists. Whipping around to face Flintlocke, Nadakhan drew his Djinn Blade. "Sound alarms, gather the crew! We have a prisoner on the loose, and I want him _found!_ " With that, Nadakhan disappeared in a brilliant burst of glittering dust, no doubt starting his own search for his escaped prisoner.

Flintlocke uncrossed his arms, looking around the quarters with interest. Snapping himself out of his reverie, he dashed out of the room, his reloaded pistols swinging at his sides.

Cole let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding in. In seconds, he had vaulted over the bed and was throwing open the closet door. The sight that met his eyes made his heart drop. Jay lay unmoving on the wooden floor, his face ashen.

"Jay?" Cole whispered, refusing to let his voice shake, and give away his fear. He bent down and caressed his friend's face with gentle strokes. "We have to leave," he reminded the blue ninja softly.

Jay cracked open his good eye, meeting Cole's anguished gaze. "Worried for me?" he murmured groggily, as if he'd just awoken from a nap. Nevertheless, there was humor underlying his tone, clear as day in Cole's ears.

"Shut up," Cole growled, which he secretly hoped translated as _'of course, you idiot'_ in Jay's mind.

Jay smirked, struggling valiantly as he attempted to sit up.

"How badly are you hurt?" Cole demanded, slipping back into his familiar role of leadership.

"Not bad, just tired," Jay assured him, unconsciously leaning towards his friend.

Cole took hold of Jay's shoulder and gave it a firm shake. "Wake up then," he commanded, rising to his feet.

Jay's eyes shot open, having drifted shut mere seconds ago. Groaning in protest, he stood, his entire body complaining along with him.

"I can't get out of here without being spotted," Jay told Cole sadly, hanging his head in defeat. "You shouldn't have come. Get out of here, while you still can."

Disbelief surged through Cole's expression. Shaking his head vehemently, he took hold of Jay's chin and tugged it, so that the blue ninja was forced to make eye contact with Cole's glimmering brown eyes.

"Never," Cole told him firmly. "You're my best friend, and I am never leaving you behind ever again."

A look of relief flitted across Jay's face. He smiled gratefully up at Cole, his own blue eye shimmering with unshed tears.

"We're wasting time," Cole reminded him gruffly, throwing open the door to Nadakhan's quarters and slipping through it, Jay following close behind.

The lightning ninja's breathing was coming in ragged pants as the two stowaways high-tailed it across the open deck and behind several crates that were stacked near the railing.

"Can you use your Airjitzu?" Cole asked him desperately, watching as Jay doubled over. In pain or exhaustion, the earth ninja couldn't tell.

"No," Jay answered truthfully, agony rippling across his face.

Cole spared one glance at the rocky piece of land that lay directly below the _Misfortune's Keep_ before turning back to Jay. "If we jump, I can catch you," he promised.

Jay shook his head, eyes widening. "No," he repeated.

"It'll be fine," Cole insisted, frustrated by Jay's stubbornness.

"No, no!" Jay shouted, pointing behind Cole's head. Cole whipped and around and dodged sharply to the left, just barely avoiding a slash across the backside from a thick venge chain. The brute Dogshank had the deadly weapon clenched in her grip, orange eyes narrowed from behind her sky-blue helmet.

"Nice try," Cole taunted, launching a volley of rocks toward the towering figure. Dogshank growled in annoyance as the earthen onslaught slammed into her armor, but shrugged it off as though it had been nothing more than a gathering of gnats.

Cole gritted his teeth. This was most definitely not his day. He was preparing another swift attack when a choked cry coming from behind him caused him to freeze in his tracks.

Spinning around, he saw Jay held tightly in Nadakhan's unrelenting grasp. The djinn held his treasured Blade at the lightning ninja's neck, fixing Cole with a smug gaze as the earth ninja glanced up at him.

"Let him go," Cole snarled, black rage pouring off him in waves.

"I think not," Nadakhan mocked, not at all affected by Cole's obvious fury. "Step down, or he dies. Simple as that." As if to prove his point, the djinn brought the blade closer to Jay's neck, drawing a thin trickle of blood from Jay's heaving throat.

"Don't listen to him Cole," Jay choked out in desperation, wincing as the blade cut into his neck. "He won't kill me; he needs me to make my final wish!"

Although there was truth to Jay's words, all Cole could process was that his best friend was currently under the threat of death. Incoherent thoughts screamed at him for attention, begging for him to do something, _anything_.

"I grow tired of your indecision," Nadakhan mocked, and threw Jay to the ground. Not without a parting gift, however. In an almost bored, sweeping motion, Nadakhan nicked Jay's arm with the Djinn Blade, smirking in satisfaction as the lightning ninja shrieked in pain.

"Jay!" Cole bellowed, shooting an intense glare at Nadakhan. "You will pay for this," he seethed, gathering his strength to attack the djinn.

Before Cole could so much as move, Nadakhan was gone, vanished into nothingness. Dogshank stood behind the earth ninja, laughing at his rage.

"Fool," she spat, preparing to lob her venge chain weapon at the furious ninja. "You are a fool to think you could ever defeat Nadakhan."

"You are the fool, for joining his crew," Cole shot back, crouching into a defensive position. "You think that he will need any of you, once he has us all captured in his little Blade? He'll want to cut you down next."

"Lies!" Dogshank roared, swinging her weapon toward the earth ninja.

"No!" Jay screeched.

Cole barely had time to comprehend the situation before a blast of lightning illuminated Dogshank's figure. She howled in agony as blue bolts of energy seared across her skin, dropping to the deck and clutching at her crackling armor. Cole turned his head to see Jay, poised with his hands outstretched. Raw power flickered on his fingers, ready to do his bidding.

Cole smiled despite himself. Perhaps Jay would be okay after all.

Jay hobbled over to the earth ninja, an earsplitting grin gracing his face. "My power is helping," he admitted, flexing his fingers and stretching their joints. "I am no longer tired."

Cole bobbed his head in a brief show of gladness. "Good," he agreed, moving to stand by the railing. "Want to try Airjitzu?"

Uncertainty flickered in Jay's expression. "Um," he stuttered, backing up slightly. He held his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture, and Cole watched as the lightning he held in his palms sputtered and died. In the next moment, Jay was falling, arcing toward the floor. Time seemed to slow down as the blue ninja collapsed against the wooden planks, his head making a sickening thud as it connected with the deck.

* * *

 **I love this pairing (romantically or platonically) so much. Anyway, I've always wanted to make a bit of an AU to "Wishmasters", because when Jay came crawling toward Cole during his rescue, I grew really concerned that he was seriously injured. However, he seemed to be completely fine. I know it's supposed to be a show geared more towards kids, so I understood why they made Jay appear uninjured. However, the wheels in my diabolical head started turning, so I thought to myself: "Let's do this." So, I made an AU where Jay was actually injured from Scrap n' Tap. Hey, it means there will be more Jay and Cole moments!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Only Ones Left

**Brief word of warning: This chapter will divert more from the plot of "Wishmasters", into something of an AU, while the ninja's original wishes will still be used.**

 **I received some lovely reviews on the first chapter! To those of you, who left a review, thank you so much. I positively adore getting reviews, and they make me feel encouraged in this dark time of the approaching finals. (I JUST WANT MY BACHELOR'S DEGREE! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?) Now, watch as I overuse italics and pump up the angst (and platonic shippiness) to an almost ridiculous level, all in to the second chapter!**

* * *

Cole darted forward, dropping to the floor beside his fallen friend. Jay's breaths were coming in shallow and leaving in the same manner. Cole could barely see the rise and fall of the lightning ninja's chest. The earth ninja's own breaths were heavy, sharp, and fast. He could feel real fear screaming for attention in the back of his mind as he gazed down at Jay, but he shoved it aside with a growl of annoyance.

 _There's no time for that. Jay needs me now,_ he thought to himself.

Grunting with exertion, Cole hoisted Jay into his arms. The lightning ninja was surprisingly thin. He was lithe, lean, and much too light. The near weightlessness of his friend unnerved Cole, and he racked his brain for a way to get off the ship.

It occurred to him that he could summon his elemental dragon, but he quickly perished the thought. He couldn't do it anymore. Not as a ghost. Not when he was so afraid.

Feeling a sense of helplessness lick at the edges of his consciousness, Cole sat down heavily onto the deck, bringing Jay down with him. What was he going to do? What if…

What if Jay died?

Cole shook his head, refusing to allow the certainty that was plaguing his thoughts to envelop his mind. Jay would be fine. He would make sure of it.

All of Cole's initial confidence evaporated when Jay let out a weak moan and curled into Cole's side.

Instinctively, Cole tightened his grip on Jay's supine figure, drawing the blue ninja closer to himself in a protective gesture. Cole began to rock back and forth, clutching his friend to his chest.

Jay was murmuring something, almost too quiet for the earth ninja to hear. Cole leaned down, closer to Jay's lips, a fond smile stretching across his face. "Even when you're hurt, you still really are a motor-mouth," he chuckled softly.

"Cole," Jay murmured, reaching up with a trembling hand.

Immediately understanding, Cole grasped Jay's hand, unheeding of the small electric sparks that crawled up his arm. "Right here," he whispered in Jay's ear, covering much of Jay's form with his own.

"Safe," Jay muttered, voice breaking.

"Yes," Cole affirmed, willing the tears that were forming in his eyes to go away. "I'll never let anything hurt you again, Jay. I promise." The earth ninja winced at his use of the term 'again', but shrugged the guilty feeling aside, refusing to let it take over his mind.

The small moment shared between the two ninja was abruptly shattered when the _Misfortune's Keep_ lurched sideways, groaning under the attack of some unidentifiable threat.

Instinctually, Cole leapt to his feet; leaving Jay sprawled on the deck. He stood protectively over his friend's slumped form, eyes darting all around as he took in the situation. From what he could see, the deck was abandoned, which was strange, considering that Dogshank had been lying injured by the railing only a minute ago.

"Where did everyone go?" Cole pondered aloud, refusing to let his guard drop.

His question was answered in a rather impressive display of chaos, as the _Misfortune's Keep_ hurled itself to the side, knocking several crates and tables overboard. Distant shouts and sounds of fighting could be heard from the stern of the ship.

Over the pandemonium, Cole heard some familiar voices adding to the ruckus.

"Nya! Lloyd!" He called out futilely, knowing full well that the other two ninja wouldn't be able to hear him.

"I wish you were a terrible shot!" Lloyd's voice came floating over the back of ship and toward Cole, who picked up the desperate cry with a start.

"Lloyd!" he bellowed, fearing the worst. If his friends were making their wishes, would that mean they were going to disappear? Beginning to panic, Cole looked down at Jay, who was still aimlessly mumbling to himself.

"Jay," Cole exclaimed desperately, tapping the lightning ninja's shoulder.

A quiet grunt of complaint followed Cole's words, as Jay moved away from Cole's prodding hand.

"Get up," Cole demanded. "Nya and Lloyd need us."

Jay's eyes slit open. The blue ninja sat up hurriedly, trying in vain to ignore the headache that had just decided to pay him a visit. "Trouble?" he inquired, voice weak.

"Yeah," Cole affirmed, giving a sharp nod of his head.

"Let's go," Jay stated firmly, struggling valiantly to his feet.

Cole allowed himself to marvel at the blue ninja's unshakable determination for just a moment, before letting his hand glide to his golden katana. He unsheathed the weapon with a flourish, and leapt toward the commotion coming from the stern of the ship.

Jay stumbled after him, upset with the fact that he'd had his owns weapons confiscated.

 _I wish…_ he began, before hastily checking himself. _No._ He wouldn't even allow himself to _think_ that vile word.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jay bounded after the earth ninja, forcing down his gasp of pain as his left leg protested his every movement. He tossed his hair out of his good eye and adjusted the eyepatch on the other one, preparing to do battle.

 _I hope I run into Flintlocke,_ Jay growled to himself. _I'd love to electrocute him straight down to the Underworld…_

Cole emitted a vigorous battle cry as the sight of dueling pirates came into view. Lloyd and Nya were sorely outnumbered, and being backed up to the edge of the _Misfortune's Keep_ 's unprotected hatchback.

"Cole!" Lloyd cried out, relief shining in his brilliant green eyes. The earth ninja barreled through three unfortunate crew members on his way over to his friends, the thrill of the battle alight in his expression. Lloyd looked worn and out of options, as he kicked a one-legged pirate off of the ship. Screaming, the scalawag disappeared toward the ocean below.

Jay was not far behind, giving his own impression of a skeleton battle cry, zapping any soul foolhardy enough to approach him.

"Jay!" Nya gasped out, delighted at the reappearance of the lightning ninja. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," Jay grunted, wincing as he spun around too fast to counter an attack. The ankle that had been attached to the venge stone was throbbing with a vengeance.

"Some of our wishes have been used up," Lloyd confessed, almost shamefacedly.

"What did you wish for?" Jay demanded, involuntarily shivering at his own usage of the word.

"I wished that Flintlocke couldn't aim for anything," Lloyd admitted, ducking his head.

Jay allowed himself a brief chuckle of amusement. "That's great," he guffawed, sparing Lloyd a quick glance before zapping a pirate into the arms of the skeleton that swung wildly on the ship's mast stand.

"I wished that Lloyd had warned me before using his wishes," Nya explained, flushing red with embarrassment.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Cole yelled over from his position near the open hatchback. He was grappling fiercely with the demonic robot monkey, grunting with exertion.

"Like you could do any better!" Nya shot back, tugging against her own venge stone chain with an angered jerk.

Jay groaned as he took in the situation. Things looked pretty bleak. "Let me get you out of the venge stone," he offered up, striding closer to Nya and Lloyd.

"Wait!" Cole shouted, his brown eyes shining. "I have an idea!"

Nadakhan glided closer to the struggling earth ninja, as if expecting his next move to be a wish.

"Cole, wait!" Jay screeched, turning so that he was facing his friend. "Whatever you do, don't –"

"I wish that venge stone only increased our powers instead of inhibiting them!" Cole roared, throwing his adversary halfway across the stern. The robotic monkey chittered with disorientation before scampering away.

"NO!" Jay cried, feeling all his hopes drain faster than his fading strength. While his lightning powers were sustaining his weakening form quite excellently, it would only be a matter of time before his injuries once again caught up with him.

"Your wish is yours to keep," Nadakhan cackled smugly.

In an instant, the entire stern was lit with an intense, green glow. Jay's heart sank as he turned back around to face the other two ninja. Lloyd was hefting an energy ball about the size of himself above his head. With a shriek of determination, he hurled it towards Nadakhan, who merely disappeared as the sizzling green ball of power rocketed past where he had been.

"I can't control my element!" Nya yelped, tripping over the slick surface of the deck. It was now coated with a thin layer of water, which was dancing around Nya like a puppy waiting for praise. Cole screeched in terror and jumped atop a set of crates, eyeing the flooding stern with no small amount of fear.

"Cut the venge chain!" Jay demanded, implementing his own element in a quick offensive move. In seconds, he had another opponent rolling uselessly on the floor.

"Got it!" Lloyd announced, severing the thick chords of metal with a dangerously strong blast of green energy. In turn, he slashed Nya's bonds in two, and the ninja quickly regrouped.

"Please, just stop using your wishes," Jay pleaded as the four ninja backed towards the edge of the open hatchback. He held his fizzling hands out in front of him, the obvious threatening gesture causing several crew members to back nervously away.

"I wish Nadakhan would lose the Sword of Souls!" Cole snarled at the djinn, balling his hands into fists.

"What did I just say?" Jay snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Your wish is yours to keep!" Nadakhan exclaimed, raising his four hands in an exaggerated gesture of fulfillment. In seconds, his sword flew from his hands and was sent sprawling across the deck.

"Captain, catch!"

Not even a full minute after the djinn lost his treasured blade, it was back in his hands, as Flintlocke tossed the weapon back towards its wielder.

"Nice going, Cole," Jay spat, feeling his patience thinning further. His heart was pounding far too quickly, and his breaths weren't getting enough air into his lungs. _I can't breathe,_ Jay thought desperately.

Cole shot him a concerned glance, but Jay returned it with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Cole frowned in response, seemingly unconvinced, but turned his attention back to the djinn. Nadakhan was brandishing his returned Djinn Blade with a confident air, occasionally looking smugly down at the earth ninja. Cole growled in the back of his throat.

"Last wish, earth ninja," Nadakhan taunted, edging closer to the four.

Jay sent Cole a pleading look, as he felt his legs beginning to buckle under his weight. His second wind was fading fast.

"I – I wish," Cole began, fumbling for something to say.

"Don't," Jay demanded, his voice coming out in nothing more than a whisper. He clutched at his arm, which was starting to bleed profusely from the sword cut Nadakhan had granted him earlier.

"I wish that we were all out of here!" Cole finally shouted, looking directly at Jay as he said this. Desperation was written in his chocolate eyes.

"Your wish is yours to keep," Nadakhan responded faithfully, although shock was evident on his face. "Unexpected, but it is yours."

All at once, the _Misfortune's Keep_ lurched heavily to one side. Giving a panicked cry, a crew member plummeted over the railing and disappeared towards the roiling ocean below.

"I wish you hadn't said that!" Nya bemoaned, and the djinn smiled as the water ninja wasted another one of her wishes.

Jay scrambled to find a foothold as the ship continued to tilt to the right, spilling its contents and tossing its passengers towards their watery graves. Lloyd fruitlessly grabbed for a handhold on a cracked plank, digging his hands into the splitting wood so far that splinters jabbed into his gloves. Nya took hold of the green ninja's foot, gripping it for dear life as the ship capsized.

Catching sight of broken piece of railing, Jay made a desperate leap and clenched his fists tightly around the polished material. It creaked loudly in protest, but stayed firmly in place as boxes and crates and assorted weapons slid effortlessly off the _Misfortune's Keep_.

With his own hold secure, Jay looked around wildly for his best friend. "Cole?" he called out, raising his voice to be heard over the screams of unfortunate pirates.

The earth ninja was keeping a loose grip on the skeleton that shook viciously above the mast stand, his expression one of frozen fear as he gazed down at the water below. With a sickening crack, the pile of bones began to snap off of the ropes that secured it to the thick stand of wood.

"Cole!" Jay shouted again, letting go of the railing with one hand. He noted the tearing ropes with dread, his heart in his throat. "Jump to me!" The heart in his throat pounded in a combination of agony and horror, making it even harder for the lightning ninja to breathe. He prayed to whatever or whoever might be listening with dismay choking out his rational thoughts. _Let him be okay,_ the lightning ninja begged. _Don't let him fall…_

Cole fixed his gaze on Jay, who was struggling to keep his hand outstretched towards the earth ninja. "Trust me," he begged. "I won't let you fall."

At last, Cole made a daring jump off the creaking bones. The instant he let go, the ropes finally ripped free of the mast stand, plunging down into the watery abyss. He allowed himself to scream as he began to fall along with them, his momentum all but gone.

Just as Cole had closed his eyes in acceptance, a small hand reached down and took a firm hold of his. Snapping his eyes back open, the earth ninja looked up to see Jay grasping his hand with all of his remaining might. The blue ninja was panting heavily, sweat dripping off his forehead. His face was contorted with the strain.

"Let go!" Cole shouted. "This was a bad idea. You can't hold on!"

"Yes I can!" Jay roared defiantly.

"I wish I was wise, like Master Wu!" Lloyd suddenly demanded. Cole and Jay turned to observe him glaring at Nadakhan, who was holding tightly to his Djinn Blade. The sword was stuck fast into the deck, keeping Nadakhan from joining the members of crew who weren't as lucky.

"Your wish is yours to keep!" He bellowed, patience wearing thin.

Lloyd instantly turned to look down at Nya, who was staring up at him with huge eyes. "Let go!" he commanded.

"Are you nuts?" Nya yelled, tightening her grip on Lloyd's leg even further. "We'll drown!"

"I know what has to be done!" Lloyd insisted.

Jay frowned at the green ninja's words, hearing an oddity forming in his youngest brother's voice. "Lloyd!" he yelped, watching as Nya struggled to come a decision. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," Lloyd shot back, but Jay could tell that something was amiss.

"Just let go of me!" Lloyd cried, attempting in vain to shake Nya loose.

"Alright, fine!" the water ninja consented, closing her eyes with a sense of finality. "In that case, I wish that the clouds would become solid, so that we won't fall!"

As soon as she wished for it to be so, Jay's grip on the railing faltered, and he let go. His arm burned with fatigue, and it hung limply as he fell toward the ocean. Cole shrieked in fear, more for Jay than for himself, and kept a tight hold on the weakening lightning ninja.

Nya joined in, screaming as all four ninja abruptly lost their grip and plummeted off the ship.

Their terror vanished as they reached the cloud layer. Cole was the first to hit it, and bounced harmlessly off of the white substance. Jay soon followed, ricocheting off the same cloud and landing uncomfortably on top of Cole. Nya and Jay landed not far off, and stood on shaky legs as they gathered their bearings. Nya stared incredulously at the white clouds, poking one experimentally.

"That actually worked," she stated, feeling pleased with her last wish.

"But now all of our wishes are gone," Jay groaned. He lay face down on the fluffy cloud layer, lacking the strength to even get up.

"Not all of them," Lloyd reminded his companions. "I have one wish left, and you still have yours, Jay." The green ninja's voice was raspy and cracked, and it unnerved Jay.

By raising his head ever so slightly, the blue ninja caught a glimpse of his youngest brother. He was hunched over, and his naturally blonde hair was parched as white as the clouds they rested on.

"Lloyd!" he cried, forcing himself into a sitting position. Blood seeped into the fluffy substance below him.

Lloyd turned to look at Jay, his expression grave. "I may now be as wise as Master Wu, but I am now as old as Master Wu also," he explained. "And I will continue to rapidly age, until I die."

"No!" the lightning ninja protested with a harsh whisper, reaching out for his brother in a desperate gesture.

"There is nothing that can be done for me," Lloyd intoned solemnly. "But there is something that can be done for you," he continued, fixing Jay with a steely gaze. "Get out of here, and when you recover, you have to come for us, and make your final wish."

"I can't!" Jay panicked, beginning to understand exactly what Lloyd was implying. "I can't do this alone!"

"You won't be," Cole stated firmly, moving to stand closer to his best friend. "I will come with you."

Nya looked as though she was about to protest, but kept her mouth firmly shut.

"Very well," Lloyd agreed, nodding his head once.

Nadakhan gracefully floated down to join the four ninja on the cloud layer, Flintlocke, Clancee, and Dogshank following close behind him. "Time's up," he cackled lightly. "Make your final wishes."

"In that case," Lloyd screeched, pointing an accusing figure at the smirking djinn, "I wish for a cutlass!"

The confusion on Nadakhan's face closely mirrored the expressions of the three other ninja, who watched as a silver sword manifested in Lloyd's strong grip.

"Go, ninja, go!" Lloyd roared, stabbing his sword deep into the clouds below them.

The fluffy clouds tore open, sending Jay and Cole rocketing down towards the ocean. Cole screeched as the water grew closer to them.

"Don't worry," Jay gasped out, his voice taking on an exhausted monotone. "I won't let you fall."

The sky became alight with the roars of Wisp, the elemental lightning dragon, who burst to life with a glorious crackling of blue energy. Jay sat behind the reins, his shoulders slumped and his expression tense. Cole gripped his backside, biting back a torrent of questions that all started with _'are you okay?'_

Wisp bellowed his dominance to the skies and streaked off toward the shores of Ninjago, flapping his wings powerfully.

"I hope Nya and Lloyd are okay," Cole ventured, wanting to break the silence that had encompassed the both of them.

Jay said nothing, and merely grunted in acknowledgment of Cole's statement.

As soon as Ninjago came into view, Wisp's wingbeats began to falter. He growled in annoyance as a particularly strong gust of wind easily shoved him to one side. Snarling defiantly, the lightning dragon pushed himself onward, the landmass growing larger and larger as the three approached.

Desert appeared beneath the dragon, who finally let go with an agonized roar of exhaustion. Wisp disappeared in a splatter of blue dust, leaving Cole and Jay to free fall toward the sand below.

Jay listlessly tumbled through the air, his eyes half-lidded and unfocused. Cole edged his way closer to the blue ninja, feeling the wind tear through his ninja gi. His makeshift disguise had been lost at sea ages ago.

"Jay," he murmured, finally reaching the auburn-haired ninja. He scooped him up in his arms in a protective motion, wrapping him tightly in his grip as the endless acres of sand and desert rushed up to greet them.

A massive shower of sand exploded from the earth as the two ninja made contact. Cole, being exceptionally hardy and almost as rock-hard as his element, absorbed most of the impact and rolled down the sand dune, keeping Jay safely tucked away against his torso. As the two ninja rolled to a stop, Cole shut his eyes against the blistering sun.

Spitting a clump of sand out of his mouth, the earth ninja sat up and shook himself. His shaggy black hair fell into his eyes, and he clawed it away with an annoyed gesture.

"Jay?" he intoned softly, gently unraveling his arms from around his friend's limp form. The blue ninja's lips were parted as he fought for each breath. By feeling Jay's forehead, Cole could easily tell that he was running a fever. "Oh, Jay," Cole soothed, taking off his glove and running his calloused hand over Jay's brow, "I'll take care of you. Don't worry."

With that, Cole picked Jay up once again, squinting at the bright light reflecting off the sand. "Now," he muttered to himself. "To see if I can find Ed and Edna's Scrap and Junk in this maze."

* * *

 **Ha! Too much? I think so too. But, it's fanfiction. I can make it as ridiculous as I want. Anyway, do you guys think that I should ease into some Bruise? I'll have plenty of opportunity in upcoming chapters, anyway.**

 **Side note: This is NOT Nya bashing. I merely want to focus more on the relationship between Jay and Cole, since the two of them don't have enough moments and scenes together in the show.**


	3. Chapter 3: To Save a Life

Cole trudged through the seemingly endless sea of sand, feeling immensely grateful that he couldn't sweat. The heat of the desert was heavy and unforgiving, and the earth ninja felt like he was getting baked alive. His black ninja suit wasn't helping matters, and he had removed his gloves and hood hours ago.

Jay was limp in Cole's arms, only moving his head from side to side occasionally when the bright sun became too much for the blue ninja to bear. His ramblings never ceased, and had only increased with frequency as the hot day wore on.

"Heat exhaustion, possibly death," Cole listed, counting out in his mind just how many problems the two ninja were going to face if they didn't find shelter soon. He shifted Jay's weight in his arms, marveling at how small and weightless the lightning ninja was.

"Cole," Jay groaned, repeating the earth ninja's name for at least the eighth time that hour.

"Yeah?" Cole grunted in response, casting his gaze down at his friend. His noir locks hung slackly in front of his eyes, while Jay's auburn hair was drenched with sweat and stuck to his forehead.

"Too hot," Jay murmured, raising a fist and placing it against Cole's chest. The action was almost like a protest.

Cole didn't blame him. The earth ninja was like a walking oven in his black ninja gi. Jay was likely very uncomfortable.

"Night will fall soon," Cole assured, glancing at the position of the sun in order to confirm his words. "It will be cooler then."

Jay's eyes snapped open, and he fixed Cole with a grimace. "Not at night," he warned, raising his voice. "Creatures."

Cole shivered at the blue ninja's ominous words. "I'll keep that in mind," he remarked nervously, unconsciously picking up the pace. Normally, his sense of direction was flawless, but now, he was beginning to have his doubts. Everything looked the same in the desert. There wasn't a single landmark anywhere.

"Hang in there, zap-trap," Cole encouraged as Jay lolled his head to one side agitatedly. The lightning ninja was becoming more and more feverish. To Cole, it felt like he was carrying some of Kai's fire directly in the palms of his hands.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, dipping beneath the looming sand dunes, the air began to chill. The dried sweat clinging to Jay's hair and gi refused to evaporate, making the lightning ninja's teeth chatter as a light breeze whipped through his clothes.

"Forget what I said earlier," Cole grumbled, shooting Jay an exasperated look. "This isn't much better."

In response to Cole's words, Jay shivered and hunched his shoulders. He pressed his face into Cole's torso, searching for any last remnant of warmth. The earth ninja gave off none.

Cole slipped his gloves back on and pulled his hood down with a practiced gesture, shielding himself from the wind, though it didn't bother him much. Sometimes, it felt good to pretend. He did the same for Jay, effectively leaving only the blue ninja's eyes free to the night air.

Distant howling echoed across the desert, loosely ricocheting off of the dunes. The twisted gatherings of sand reached towards the sky with groping fingers, casting long shadows down onto the two ninja.

Cole shuddered, more out of wariness than cold.

"Jay," he whispered, leaning down so that the lightning ninja could hear him better. "Do you think you can walk?"

Jay grumbled in acknowledgment of Cole's question, raising his hands and wrapping them around the earth ninja's waist. "Don't want to," he muttered, nuzzling further into Cole's side.

"Come on," Cole insisted, feeling his patience beginning to wear thin. "The sooner we get out of this place, the better."

Jay opened his good eye and gave the earth ninja a glare. "Fine," he consented, relaxing his grip on his friend.

Cole gently lowered the blue ninja onto the sand, and arched his back as he straightened up.

"I don't like sand," Jay murmured in a delusional manner. "It's coarse, rough, irritating, and it gets everywhere."

Cole chuckled dryly at his companion's remark. "Well, you did grow up in a desert," he reminded Jay, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jay staggered wearily to his feet and dragged a hand down his face. "I think it stopped bleeding," he commented drily.

At once, Cole was by the blue ninja's side, noting Jay's red-stained outfit with horror. "Where?" he demanded, hastily running a hand down Jay's torso to check for anymore injuries.

"Shove off," Jay bit out tersely. He was feeling lightheaded, and he put a gloved hand to his face in agony. Waving off Cole's concern with a sharp gesture, Jay took a tentative step forward and pushed through his weakening state.

"Where do we go?" Cole asked, deciding to confront the blue ninja about his injuries at a later time.

Jay spared the earth ninja a quick glance. "Junkyard's right around here," he explained, although apprehension dotted his expression. "My parents aren't gonna be thrilled to see me."

Cole stepped closer to the blue ninja. One of Jay's hands was clenching his injured side, and Cole took hold of the hand that wasn't. "Show me the way," he stated gently. "And then you can rest. I'll take care of you."

Jay offered his friend what he hoped was a grateful look. "Follow me," he commanded, and stumbled off towards a particularly large sand dune. Suddenly feeling much too hot in his gi, Jay flipped back his hood and took in a ragged breath.

Cole sighed in resignation. He could have sworn that they had passed that specific dune just a few hours ago…

As the two ninja trudged nearer toward what Cole hoped was Ed and Edna's Scrap and Junk, he noticed Jay's pace rapidly deteriorating. His heart nearly stopped as he caught sight of a dark, scarlet trail following behind the lightning ninja.

 _His sword wound must have reopened!_ Cole thought desperately, and jogged to catch up to his friend.

"Jay!" he called out, putting a hand on the blue ninja's shoulder. "Your wound –"

The earth ninja abruptly stopped talking as Jay turned to face him. His cheeks were pale, and his forehead was clammy with sweat. As if in a trance, Jay nodded at Cole, almost as though he was telling the earth ninja that he knew.

Cole gulped, tightening his grip on Jay's shoulder. When the lightning ninja winced, he hastily let go.

"Up ahead," Jay croaked out. With that, he collapsed to the ground, once again giving up on staying conscious.

"Not again, Jay," Cole groaned, but worry spiked in his heart. Gathering the blue ninja to himself, Cole trudged forward in the direction Jay had indicated. Soon enough, the ancient Christmas lights that clung to Ed and Edna's rusted business sign gleamed in the distance. The sight was more than welcome to the earth ninja, who started running. The sand below his feet was hardly disturbed as he flew along, determined to reach the scrapyard in time for his friend. Jay grunted and clenched his eyes tightly shut as Cole raced along, getting uncomfortably jostled around.

Without a second's hesitation, Cole darted underneath the flickering lights and up towards the front door of Ed and Edna's trailer. Alarms blared throughout the junkyard, screeching loudly as they warned anyone nearby of the intruder.

The door to the faded blue trailer swung open wildly, and Ed dashed out, brandishing a bent metal pole with all the ferocity of a wildcat.

"It's me, it's Cole!" the earth ninja yelped, almost dropping Jay in alarm.

Ed let his weapon fall, and it emitted a loud clang as it thudded atop a spare titanium plank. "Cole?" he echoed. A smile slowly stretched across his aging face. "Well, hello there!" Ed turned his head so that he was facing his home, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Edna, dear!" he called. "We have a visitor! One of Jay's ninja friends!"

"Actually, Mr. Walker," Cole began, nervously glancing down at the figure in his arms, "Jay is here with me. And… I'm afraid he's injured."

Ed's smile abruptly slid off his face, to be replaced with a look of dismay. "Jay?" he cried out, finally noticing his son dangling in Cole's grip. He hastily made his way over to Cole and took the lightning ninja from Cole's grasp. Rearranging his arms protectively around Jay, Ed hurried towards the trailer.

Unsure of what else to do, Cole followed closely behind.

"What's wrong, Ed, dear?" Edna inquired as her husband ran into the kitchen.

"It's Jay, hon," he explained gravely and without preamble. He knocked a few tools haphazardly aside and placed their son on the kitchen counter.

"Oh dear," Edna gasped, noting Jay's injuries with fear. Her face paled, and Cole took it upon himself to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Walker," he assured, although he was also terrified for Jay's life, "your son will be fine. He just needs to rest, and have his wounds treated."

Mr. Walker immediately set to work, peeling away the tattered remnants of Jay's ninja gi. The lightning ninja's chest was a mess of bruises and lacerations, the most notable being a gash across his abdomen.

Edna let out a whimper of dread, and turned to bury her face in Cole's shirt. The earth ninja awkwardly patted her on the back, praying that she wouldn't cry.

The sword cut on Jay's arm was the most serious wound on the blue ninja's upper half, and Cole sincerely hoped it was the worst of any injury.

"I'll need to run and grab the first-aid kit," Ed remarked, his tone serious and strong. Cole could detect a quaver in the inventor's voice, however, and decided to step forward.

"I can handle it, Mr. Walker," Cole offered, easing away from the distraught Mrs. Walker. "I'll tend to him. Why don't the two of you prepare a place for him to sleep?"

Ed shot Cole a grateful look and nodded sharply. "I'll get you what medical supplies we have," he stated, noticeably sagging with relief. Although the inventor cared immensely for his son, he doubted his own abilities to help Jay recover.

Edna hurried after her husband as he disappeared down a small hallway.

With the kitchen completely empty, Cole allowed himself to fully take in the state of his friend. He grimaced as he observed each and every injury, wishing that he had taken those hits instead.

 _But I'm all out of wishes,_ he thought drily.

Ed reappeared not a minute later, clutching a box of assorted pieces of gauze and other medical supplies in his hands. "Here," he stated firmly, setting the box down on a chair. He scooted the plastic chair closer to earth ninja, fixing him with a steely glare. "Take care of my son," he ordered, before vanishing into another room.

"I promise," Cole murmured, bringing his attention back to his injured friend. With shaky hands, he took a cloth and carried it over to the sink. He ran it under hot tap water, being careful to leave a small square completely dry, and made his way back over to Jay with a sense of surety in his steps. He steadied his hands as best he could and gently touched the warm washcloth to one of Jay's less serious lacerations.

Instantly, Jay gasped in pain, arcing off the counter and attempting to inch away from the steady pressure Cole was applying.

Dismay drowned out most of Cole's coherent thoughts as he witnessed his friend's strong reaction. _This is going to be harder than I thought,_ he bemoaned.

"Easy," he soothed, stroking Jay's forehead with his free hand. "I need to clean the wounds."

Jay muttered something under his breath, eyes firmly shut. With a sigh of resignation, he relaxed against the slab of countertop, offering no more complaints.

Being careful to keep his hands safe, Cole ran the washcloth over some of Jay's lesser injuries, effectively cleansing the bloodied cuts of any dirt and sweat. Jay moaned in discomfort, but kept rigidly still.

After wiping the lacerations down, Cole took a tube of antiseptic and gently dabbed a small helping onto each bloodied wound. That done, he taped pieces of gauze over each one.

"There," Cole exclaimed. A tremor edged its way into his voice as he cast his gaze down to the sickening gash on Jay's abdomen.

 _I can't do this,_ he thought desperately.

"Cole," a weak voice suddenly whispered.

Cole locked gazes with Jay, who had agony spelled out in his clear, azure eye.

"Help me," the lightning ninja pleaded, keeping his eye trained on Cole for just a second longer before letting his head fall back against the counter.

"Okay," Cole responded simply, hearing his heart beat loudly in his ears. "I'll try…"

With that, the earth ninja hardened his resolve, and set to work.

* * *

 **Hurrah for Star Wars references, and a lot of angst! And that's all I have to say.**


	4. Chapter 4: Here With Me

**I did research for this one! For the life of me, I could not remember if you needed to use soap to clean a deep wound or not.**

 **Also, yeah I know that this is a short chapter. Sorry not sorry, because I'm a busy person!**

 **Also, there is blood in this chapter. Not too much detail, but it is mentioned frequently and dealt with via severe injuries. So, if you are sensitive to brief and light descriptions of wounds, you have been warned.**

* * *

The first scream that Jay emitted caught Cole completely off-guard. He jolted back in shock, abruptly removing the thick wad of towels that he had pressed to the gash on the blue ninja's abdomen. With shaking hands, he set the bloodied mass down and moved to comfort his friend. He ran a hand through Jay's matted hair and bent down so that he was level with the lightning ninja's ear.

"It's going to be okay," he assured, gliding his hand lower to stroke Jay's sweaty forehead. "Just let me help you."

Jay's breaths came in sporadic bursts, and his chest was heaving. To the earth ninja, it looked like Jay was trying to fight off tears, along with his pain.

"It's okay," Cole repeated, straightening up and reaching for the towels. "I know it hurts, Jay. You don't have to be strong right now."

A low sub erupted from Jay's chest, and he hastily placed a trembling hand over his mouth. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

Feeling his heart clench painfully, Cole moved to steady the crumpled towels over the wound. Jay screamed again, banging his head against the back of the table with a loud thunk. Wincing, Jay let his remaining breath out in a cry of pain. Quickly losing his energy, the lightning ninja settled for moaning with discomfort, wildly attempting to stifle his shrieks with barely-contained agony.

Cole wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. In seconds, he had discarded the ruined cloth and replaced it with more towels. Briefly, he wondered if Ed and Edna would be upset with him for wasting so many dishtowels. He perished the thought almost immediately.

 _It's for Jay,_ he reminded himself. _They won't care._ _They want to see him healed about as much as I do._

The lightning ninja allowed himself another whimper of pain, and Cole instinctively took Jay's hand in his. The other one of Jay's hands was gripping the edge of the countertop so firmly that his knuckles were white. In turn, he squeezed Cole's hand tightly.

The earth ninja winced, feeling glad that he was the strongest ninja of the group. Otherwise, he didn't even want to consider what shape his fingers would be in now.

Cole strained to reach for a few more towels, keeping Jay's hand enveloped in his own. Once he had them, he rolled them up as neatly as he could one-handed, and pressed them against Jay's injury.

The blue ninja screeched, and his grip on Cole's hand slackened almost imperceptibly as he flitted in and out of consciousness for several terrifying moments.

"Hang in there, Jay," Cole encouraged, watching with no small amount of horror as blood seeped through the cloth. "I'm working as fast as I can."

Jay merely whined in acknowledgment, keeping his eyes clamped shut.

After going through his third round of dishtowels, Cole was finally able to see the flow of blood slow to a trickle. Sighing with relief, Cole ran a hand through his hair, again feeling grateful that he couldn't sweat. If he could, he was certain that he would've been disgusting by now.

"See?" Cole whispered to Jay, who was writhing on the granite tabletop. "The hard part is over with."

Glistening tear tracks reflected strongly off of Jay's face from the moonlight cast through the kitchen window. He still held tightly to both the countertop and Cole's hand, feverishly murmuring something under his breath.

"Now I'm going to have to clean the gash," the earth ninja explained to the barely-conscious Jay, willing his voice to stop shaking.

The lightning ninja's only response was a whispered remark, which was entirely incomprehensible.

Cole let go of Jay's hand for a brief moment as he moved to gather the necessary supplies. The blue ninja cried out at the loss, struggling to sit up.

Cole hastily snatched up an empty basin along with a bottle of saline solution before returning to Jay's side. "Stay down," he insisted, gently but firmly pressing the blue ninja back down against the granite counter. "I just need to fill this with water."

With that, Cole marched the cream-colored basin over to the kitchen sink and filled it with tap water, listlessly watching as the warm liquid coursed into the small basin. When it was half full, Cole turned off the ancient faucet, which protested with a loud shriek. Wincing at the noise, the earth ninja ambled back over to his friend, setting the basin down carefully next to Jay. The water sloshed in the basin, and several drops leapt from the bowl and splashed onto the tabletop.

Jay attempted to turn his head to watch as Cole popped open the cap to the bottle of saline solution. The earth ninja also made to grab another dish towel, and thoroughly soaked it in the water from the basin.

The silence was heavy between the two of them, and was only broken occasionally by the soft splashing sounds of water, and the occasional muttered curse from Cole.

Feeling a desperate need to psych himself up, Cole drew in a breath and got back to work. He applied the wet towel to Jay's injury, only pulling it away when the area was fully soaked. His hands, the earth ninja noted with dread, would not stop shaking.

Cole tried desperately to convince himself that he was terrified of the water, and not of hurting Jay any more than he already had.

"This might sting a bit," he explained, snatching up the bottle of saline solution. He applied several dabs of it to another loose dishtowel and gently cleaned the deep gash with it.

Jay shrieked in protest, but did nothing more than slam his head back on the countertop. Cole could hear the blue ninja continue to sob, and felt his very soul cry out in response.

"I'm done, okay?" the earth ninja bit out, hastily removing the towel from Jay's abdomen. He threw it haphazardly across the room, caring little of where it landed. "All I have to do now is bandage it. That shouldn't hurt too bad, okay?"

Jay's eyelids fluttered open for a brief second as Cole continued his tirade of what he hoped were comforting words.

"Cole," he sputtered, restlessly clenching and unclenching the hand that held tightly to the granite countertop.

"Jay!" the earth ninja shouted, putting a hand behind Jay's head. He gently brought the blue ninja into a sitting position, careful of the deep wound on Jay's abdomen. "Good to have you back in the land of the living," he stated joyfully, a trembling smile on his lips.

"It hurts," Jay whimpered, allowing several more tears to slip from his dimmed blue eyes.

"I know," Cole soothed, letting go of Jay's hand in order to run his own hand through the blue ninja's auburn hair.

"I… I," Jay murmured, his breath catching as he struggled to speak.

"Lie down again," Cole encouraged, aiding his friend as Jay reluctantly returned to his earlier supine position.

"I want it all to go away," Jay sobbed, putting his head in his hands as he curled in on himself.

Cole's heart froze at the lightning ninja's words. _All to go away…_

That was exactly what Nadakhan wanted.

Feeling his heart gallop in his chest, the earth ninja clambered onto the countertop and hovered over Jay, staring him dead in the face. Startled, Jay watched with wide eyes as Cole gazed down at him.

"Don't say that, Jay," Cole commanded, willing his voice to sound stern. "That's what Nadakhan wants, and you can't give him what he wants."

Fear filled the blue ninja's eyes as Cole's words fully sunk in. "I can't," he gasped out. "I can't give in."

"That's the spirit, Motor-mouth," Cole encouraged, lightly placing his hand on Jay's shoulder as a sign of comfort.

Jay grimaced as he adjusted himself on the tabletop, and the earth ninja hastily reminded himself that he still had to bandage the gash on Jay's abdomen. As well as take care of the sword wound on Jay's arm.

"You're a mess," Cole added, shaking his head.

Jay opened his mouth to protest, but ended up gasping in pain instead.

"Told you," the earth ninja stated, wincing as though he felt Jay's agony personally.

Jay whined and clamped his eyes shut. "I want it to go away," he repeated.

Cole stiffened.

"But," Jay continued, a weak smile gracing his features, "if you stay here, with me, then I think I'll be okay."

The earth ninja nodded, feeling his lingering fears about Jay's last wish slink to the back of his mind.

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured, putting off the bandaging in order to rest Jay's head on his legs.

Jay let out a contented sigh and nuzzled further into Cole's lap. "That's good," he mumbled, feeling an overwhelming desire to sleep drown out most of his coherent thoughts. "I always need you here, with me…"

* * *

 **There you have it, folks.**

 **As a side note, be aware that this fic will remain strictly platonic. Fear not, however, for I plan to dabble in romantic Bruise in the future. In this story, however, the two ninja will have nothing more between them than their strong brotherly bond.**


	5. Chapter 5: Unforseen Circumstances

**Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha**

 **AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

 _ **MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**_

 **This chapter starts after a short time skip from the last one.**

* * *

It had been a long night.

Cole sat down heavily in a rickety kitchen chair, hearing it groan in protest as he leaned into the wooden back. The whole thing was held together by several bent nails and spare metal rods jammed through rotting plywood planks.

"Your parents are pretty inventive," Cole tossed out. Exhaustion crept into his voice, causing it to come out as nothing more than a whisper.

In response, Jay shifted uncomfortably on the granite tabletop, lifting a hand to tug at the mass of bandages on his abdomen. He grunted in frustration as Cole shot back to his side and stayed his wandering fingers.

"Watch it," the earth ninja warned. "You have to leave the injuries alone."

Jay whined in protest and turned his head to glance at the wrappings that secured his sliced shoulder from view.

Cole winced as the lightning ninja tore his gaze away. He remembered all too clearly fixing up Jay's shoulder wound mere minutes ago. He had been forced to cauterize the wound with one of his spare knives, heated to an extreme temperature. The earth ninja could still see in his mind's eye the terror and agony spelled out in Jay's uncovered eye.

It had pained Cole to a degree where it was practically physical. Actual tears had formed in the corners of his eyes, and he could distinctly recall the burning sensation of the salty water before it evaporated.

He had actually taken the knife and bent it into an unrecognizable shape once he was done. It hadn't at all felt like a waste of a weapon to him.

Ed and Edna had checked on them several times during that long and degrading process. Cole felt terribly for them. Both of Jay's parents had been whiter than Zane's homeland of the Birch Forest, and Edna had been sobbing hard enough to make her shoulders shake uncontrollably.

But now, it was all finally over. Jay was on the road to recovery. He was safe, healing, and _would not die_.

Cole held that truth close to his battered heart.

After profusely apologizing to Mr. and Mrs. Walker for the mess, throwing everything into the dumpster outside, and packing up the remaining usable medical supplies, the earth ninja felt like sleeping for an entire year.

It was concern for Jay that kept his eyes wide open, and trained on the lightning ninja's supine form.

Jay continued to restlessly toss and turn on the counter, but ended up gasping in pain whenever he moved too fast or too far.

Cole had seen quite enough of his friend's struggles, and promptly rose from his chair.

"Alright, Motor-mouth," he announced into the relative quiet of the mobile home's kitchen, "let's get you into a proper bed."

With that, Cole ambled forward and scooped Jay into his arms for what felt like the eighth time that day.

"This had better not become a regular thing," the earth ninja grumbled, shifting Jay's light body in his grasp. "The second you get better, you're on your own."

Jay said nothing, and merely pressed himself into Cole's side instinctively. He began mumbling again, muttering incoherent thoughts aloud.

"You really are the Mouth of Lightning," Cole exclaimed in annoyance. "In fact, I think I have a new nickname for you."

In his barely conscious state, Jay emitted an inquiring grunt.

"The Master of Blabber," Cole explained grandly, causing Jay to weakly place a fist against the earth ninja's chest. A small scowl edged its way onto the blue ninja's face.

"It's true," Cole chuckled, amused by his friend's strong reaction.

Eventually, Cole made his way into a small room, with soft blue walls and a dark ceiling. There was a bed in the corner, decorated with a surprisingly bright orange comforter, along with several blue pillows.

"This must be your room," Cole guessed, moving to set his friend down on the narrow bed.

The earth ninja quickly straightened to sweep his gaze around the room. He caught sight of an oak dresser standing proudly by the bed, adorned with bits and bobs of what looked to be inventions in the process of being created. Near the dresser was a full-sized pair of wings. They were crafted from brown papier-mâché, and looked to be light, yet sturdy. Thin wooden sticks acted like bones and joints, interconnecting within the translucent material. Attached to the impressive wings was a metal harness complete with leather straps and a miniature cup holder.

Cole whistled in appreciation, and turned to cast his glance back at Jay, who had finally dropped off to a deep slumber. Smiling fondly, Cole hastened back to his brother's side, avoiding nails and screws that littered the wooden floor. Upon reaching the bed, Cole carefully eased the lightning ninja underneath the thick orange comforter, and tucked it around his form until nothing but Jay's head lay uncovered.

The earth ninja stepped back and placed his hands on his hips in a satisfied gesture. "There," he stated, looking pleased with his work.

That done, Cole went back towards the kitchen to fetch the old chair, planning to stay by Jay's side all night. After all, Nadakhan was still out there, and could still try and kidnap Jay again at any moment.

Cole shivered at the thought, cracking his knuckles menacingly. He'd like to see that four-armed freak try… He would never let that evil jinni near his friend ever again.

Cole glanced down in shock to see that he had made a sizable dent in one of the metal rods on the back of the chair. It had a distinct, fist-shaped bend to it.

The earth ninja groaned, making a mental note to get Ed and Edna some new chairs once the whole business with Nadakhan and his twisted ideals blew over.

Making it back to Jay's room, Cole positioned the chair alongside the bed and readjusted a corner of the comforter. It had slipped off of Jay's injured shoulder. That done, the earth ninja collapsed into the chair, feeling the dented rod screech as he settled his weight against it. Startled, Cole whipped his head up to make sure that the noise hadn't woken Jay, and saw that the lightning ninja was still sleeping as peacefully as could be possible with several serious injuries. Sighing with relief, Cole shot a murderous glare at the damaged rod, feeling rather silly moments later when he remembered that it was just an inanimate object.

While Cole tried his absolute hardest, he could feel his tired eyes beginning to slide shut of their own accord, no matter how stubbornly he tried to force them open again.

" _Jay?" Cole called out, stumbling forward in the foggy landscape._

" _Cole!" Jay's terrified voice came floating back to him over the misty air._

" _Jay!" Cole shouted, launching into a run. His legs refused to move much faster than a walk, and worked impossibly hard to churn through the thick fog. "I'm coming!" Cole screeched, cursing loudly as his legs continued to fight against the mist._

" _Cole, help me!" Jay yelled, his voice echoing in the vast, open field._

 _At least, Cole thought it was a field. He couldn't really tell, given that the fog was so thick. It obscured his view to the point where he could barely see his feet as they struggled to go faster._

" _Hold on, Jay!" Cole shot back, desperation lacing his tone. Ragged panting followed his words as he felt all his energy drain away. He hadn't moved very far, and already felt like he had run several miles._

" _Cole, please!" Jay shrieked, fear clearly dancing in his words._

" _I'm coming!" the earth ninja shouted, though it came out as something more of a gargled screech._

 _The fog pressed in closer, almost taunting Cole with its frustrating thickness. It poured into his lungs, making it harder and harder for the earth ninja to breathe. Cole promptly choked on his own air, vainly trying to force more breath into his lungs._

 _The fog wrapped a solidified tendril around Cole's arm. The earth ninja would have screamed had it not been for the fact that he could hardly breathe._

 _The mist hoisted Cole into the air and threw him across the landscape. Cole let all his remaining breath out in a gasp as his body hit the ground with a loud thump._

 _Just as the earth ninja felt hopelessness begin to crowd out his thoughts, the menacing fog abruptly lifted._

 _As the dense mist evaporated, Cole struggled valiantly back to his feet. The second he was back on his toes, he sprinted forward. This time, his legs cooperated with him. Charred dirt flew by underneath his feet as the earth ninja hurled himself in the direction of where he thought Jay's screams had been coming from._

 _Dread choked out all sanity left in his mind as he realized that Jay had not said anything more._

" _Jay!" he demanded, throwing more speed into his run._

 _With horror, Cole realized that there was someone in the distance. And that someone was not moving._

 _Desperation fueled his movements as he vaulted over the incinerated remains of what looked to be a pirate and fell to his knees beside the unmoving figure._

 _At that moment, time itself seemed to stand still. Cole felt certain that his very heart stalled for the briefest of seconds._

 _Lying before him was Jay, and half of the lightning ninja's face was completely obliterated._

 _The sight made the earth ninja sick, and he retched violently. Bile streamed to the burned earth._

" _No," he choked out, reaching out a trembling hand to take Jay's in his own._

 _Jay's remaining, lifeless eye stared hollowly back up at him, and Cole could swear that betrayal had been the last thing written in the blue ninja's expression._

 _It taunted him._

"Why didn't you save me?" _the corpse seemed to ask._

 _Terrified, Cole backed away hastily, holding his hands out in front of him. His heart dropped as he saw blood glistening on his fingers, likely from Jay's own mangled hands._

 _Just when the earth ninja was positive that things couldn't get any worse, his entire world was rocked onto one side. Dread blossomed in his chest as he caught sight of a glowing green figure slowly stalking towards him._

 _It was Jay._

" _You failed me," the lightning ninja accused, pointing a finger at Cole's chest. "I thought you cared about me. Was this all a ruse? Were you planning to let me die when the right moment came around?"_

" _No!" Cole protested. "I love you, Jay. You're my brother! I would never want you to die. I can't lose you…" the earth ninja explained desperately, feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that he was outpouring some of his deepest thoughts and emotions._

" _Lies."_

 _The simple statement shook Cole to his core._

" _You said you hated me."_

" _Never! I never said –" Cole began, taking a single step forward._

" _But you did." Jay corrected, anger shining in his dead, blue eyes. "All those years ago. I finally had everything I had ever wanted, but you came to take it from me. You wanted me to lose all I had, and you told me why."_

 _Dread weighing down his feet, Cole paused and racked his brain. When had he done that?_ Why _would he have done that?_

 _And then it hit him, like a sucker punch to the gut._

 _Nya._

 _They had almost lost their close bond – and over a_ girl _._

" _Jay," Cole cried out, "I never should have fought with you. You are more important to me than anything else. I was stupid to think that –"_

" _Enough!" the lightning ninja bellowed. "I have heard enough excuses. And you know what? I hate you too."_

 _With that, the ghost of Jay Walker vanished, and the sickening feeling in the earth ninja's gut told Cole that his friend was permanently gone._

" _No!" he screeched into the vacant field. "JAY!"_

Cole jolted awake with a hand on resting on his katana, which rested reliably against the rickety chair. He sprang to his feet, eyes darting wildly around the room as he searched for Jay. The bed was empty.

 _We can't be alone…_ Cole thought, mind racing. _That's when he comes for us…_

With his heart in his throat, the earth ninja tore out of the room and down into the kitchen. He skidded to a halt in the entryway, hastily putting down his weapon.

The lightning ninja sat comfortably at the breakfast table, munching away on microwavable waffles.

He glanced up as Cole padded further into the room, and offered his brother an earsplitting grin.

"Hungry?" Jay asked him, picking up an extra plate of waffles and waving it around for added effect.

Cole nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Forcing himself to relax, he snatched up the offered waffles and sat down across from Jay.

"What's the matter?" the blue ninja asked around a mouthful of food. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Cole rolled his eyes as Jay giggled at his own pun.

"I'm fine," the earth ninja insisted, gulping down an entire waffle. "Just was a little worried when I woke up to see you out of sight."

"Worried for me?" Jay chortled, happiness singing in his voice. "You're setting a record for yourself."

Cole scowled and launched his fork at Jay's head. Startled, the blue ninja caught it midair and threw it towards the sink. It landed in the rusting appliance with a clatter.

"I see your reflexes still work," Cole stated, chowing down on another soggy breakfast morsel.

Jay frowned, but it soon slipped from his face, to be replaced with a wry smile. "And that was even my bad shoulder," he explained.

Cole instantly glanced over at the lightning ninja, narrowing his eyes at the wounded shoulder. He stared intently at the exposed bandage, scrutinizing it for bloodstains.

"I'm fine, you dolt," Jay huffed, putting some considerable effort into crossing his arms over his chest.

"Watch it," Cole bit out, making to rise from the table. "Don't strain your injuries. Later today, I'm going to replace the bandages with fresh ones."

"Calm down, Boulder-brain," Jay retorted sourly, forking his last bite of waffle. "I'll survive."

Cole winced at Jay's words.

Jay caught the earth ninja's obvious discomfort and offered him a softer smile. "I'll be okay," he told him, certainty shining in his tone. "Thanks to you."

Cole gave the lightning ninja a grateful grin in response.

"Now then," Jay continued, getting to his feet, "give me your dish; I'll wash it for you."

"No, I got it," Cole insisted. In his haste to grab the plates from Jay, he passed right through the table.

"I can wash the dishes Cole," Jay spat, annoyance bleeding into his voice. "I'm not an invalid."

"Right," Cole conceded, reluctantly slinking back to his chair.

"Hold on," Jay told him, swinging around to face the entryway to the kitchen. "I have to get more soap from the cupboards in the bathroom."

"I'll come with you," the earth ninja offered, stumbling back to his feet.

"I can handle it," the lightning ninja retorted, although his voice lacked any severe bite to it.

Cole watched warily as Jay strolled from the kitchen, but said nothing. He didn't want Jay to think he was being overprotective.

The earth ninja made up his mind to snatch up the plates, which Jay had left behind at the table. He carried them over to the sink, unceremoniously dumping them into the metal appliance.

Something moved in the corner of his eye.

"Jay?" Cole called out, spinning around to get a better glimpse at who it was.

The kitchen was empty.

Cole glanced over at his chair, which still had the shining katana leaning against the hybrid metal-wooden leg.

Cautiously, Cole edged his way over to his weapon, keeping his gaze flitting around the kitchen.

"Mr. Walker?" Cole called into the stillness, continuing to move towards the katana.

The floorboards gave one solitary creak.

"Mrs. Walker?" Cole demanded.

All at once, a figure raced towards the earth ninja, brandishing a threatening silver cutlass.

Cole made one last dive for his katana, and barely managed to snag the furnished handle before his foe was upon him.

"Thought you could catch me unaware?" the earth ninja snarled, whirling around and clashing blades with his mysterious adversary.

"I'm not here for you, Master of Earth," the figure stated evenly, matching Cole's fury-propelled stroke with a swift counterblow.

"You'll never get him," Cole growled, dropping down to make a jab at his enemy's knees.

The figure sprang back, abruptly lowering his weapon.

"Coward!" Cole bellowed, lunging forward.

In a sudden moment, he was hit from behind by a blunt object. As the earth ninja collapsed listlessly to the floor, he dimly registered in the back of his mind that it was probably that blasted chair.

The sound of shattering glass could be heard as Cole's eyesight unfocused. The last thing he heard was Jay's scream as the world went dark.

* * *

 **I wanted to upload before the New Year, so here you go.**


	6. Chapter 6: Escaping Fate

**There is one swear word in this chapter. You have been warned.**

* * *

Jay stared horrorstruck at the scene before him. The glass soap bottle he held in his hands dropped to the floor and shattered into millions of small pieces, which skittered across the linoleum floor like cockroaches. A sharp scream of shock escaped his lips before he could stop it, and he stood unmoving as the villainous Flintlocke turned and fixed the blue ninja with a steely gaze.

"There you are," he sneered, drawing one of his pistols from its holster. With an almost bored gesture, he tossed the silver cutlass he had clenched in his other hand in the general direction of Doubloon, who caught it with practiced ease. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

All at once, Jay snapped out of his petrified stupor and allowed a snarl to draw back his lips. "Step away from my friend," he spat. He sank into an offensive posture, cursing his current lack of nunchaku. Cole had put them on the blue ninja's nightstand before Jay had gone to sleep.

"We don't need him, anyway," Flintlocke retorted, nudging Cole's unmoving form with his foot. "Although, I suppose the Captain _does_ need another soul for his sword…"

Jay seized the moment and leapt forward, hands outstretched. Flintlocke, startled, could do nothing as the lightning ninja ploughed into him, knocking him down onto the polished kitchen floor. Jay furiously grappled with the pirate, managing to land a solid blow to Flintlocke's left eye before Nadakhan's second-in-command found his second wind.

With an animalistic cry of rage, Flintlocke gathered his legs underneath him and kicked Jay backwards. Jay soared skywards until he abruptly hit something solid. The lightning ninja grunted with pain as he determined that he had crashed directly into the refrigerator. His world spun alarmingly for several moments, and all Jay could see was the blurry image of several Flintlockes moving threateningly towards him.

Distantly, in the back of his mind, Jay registered two panicked cries coming from just down the hall. A cold stone of dread weighed down the blue ninja's stomach as he recognized the voices to be his parents'.

 _I have to help them…_

Shaking his head viciously to clear his vision, Jay darted forward and lashed out at Doubloon. The silent pirate's face whirled around to reveal an expression of shock as the blue ninja sent Doubloon flying into the kitchen wall. With Doubloon out of commission, Jay snagged the fallen pirate's sword and made a mad dash down the hall to find his parents.

They were huddled up against the wall, holding on to each other for dear life as Monkey Wrench sauntered closer to them, chittering venomously.

"Back away from my parents, you sorry excuse for a bucket of bolts," Jay growled. "Unless you'd rather be turned to scrap!" As if to emphasize his words, Jay brandished the stolen cutlass with clear fury spelled out in his brilliant blue eyes.

Unheeding of the lightning ninja's warning, the metal primate launched itself at Jay, who cleanly sliced off one of the monkey's orange-tinted arms.

Shrieking with disbelief, Monkey Wrench quickly snatched up his fallen limb, turned, and clambered out of the nearest open window.

"I warned you!" Jay chortled. With that, he wheeled around to face his parents, who had matching smiles on their faces. "Are you alright?" he asked them, worry creasing his brow.

"Oh, yeah, we're just fine, son!" Ed reassured him quickly, waving a dismissive hand in Jay's face.

"Thanks to you, sweetheart," Edna added in, beaming at her son.

Jay nodded. "I have to go get Cole," he told them hurriedly before turning tail and rocketing off towards the kitchen.

"Always on the move," Edna remarked fondly as Jay disappeared through an open doorway.

The lightning ninja skidded to a halt as he reentered the kitchen. Doubloon had regained his footing, but looked unsteady on his toes. Flintlocke stood next to Cole, glaring disdainfully down at the earth ninja's supine form.

Jay made to attack the pirates, but stopped as he felt a dagger of pain knife up his sides. Gritting his teeth together, he glanced down at his abdomen. There was no blood, which greatly relieved the blue ninja, but his wound hurt. It throbbed angrily as his pain returned with a vengeance.

 _Looks like those pain pills I took earlier are absolute shit,_ Jay thought sardonically.

The lightning ninja moved forward carefully as his wound continued to protest his every step. Flintlocke shot a menacing stare at Jay and drew his pistol.

"Go ahead and try," Jay taunted, chuckling humorlessly. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door."

Flintlocke growled low in his throat at that remark and raised his gun.

Jay instinctively braced himself and set his shoulders back as his adversary cocked the pistol. The cutlass he had locked in his own tight grip minutely trembled as fatigue started catching up with the blue ninja. Small beads of sweat appeared above his stark black eyepatch.

"You're not scared, are you?" Flintlocke mocked, shutting one eye as he leisurely adjusted the scope of his weapon.

In a burst of determination, Jay tore the patch from his injured eye, baring the unsightly bruising to the world. Narrowing his good eye, the blue ninja raised his stolen sword and faced down Nadakhan's second-in-command.

In a sharp explosion of gunpowder, Flintlocke fired his pistol. Jay expertly dodged to the right, which proved to have been a frivolous movement as the silver bullet rolled to a stop several yards to Jay's left.

Flintlocke snarled at his continued misfortune, and began haphazardly firing in all directions. Jay gasped and leapt behind the fridge, which now sported a misshapen door due to the blue ninja's recent endeavors.

Several shots ricocheted off of the walls, and Doubloon cowered behind a kitchen chair to avoid getting hit by any stray bullets. The distinct sounds of shattering glass and breaking porcelain added to the din of gunfire, and Jay crouched down lower in his position behind the fridge, covering his ears with his hands.

"I've just about had enough of this," Flintlocke spat decisively, jamming his smoking pistol back into its holster. It sputtered in defiance as its hot barrel came into contact with the leather strap, scalding the thick material. The pirate snatched up his second gun, sparing the destroyed kitchen a brief sneer.

The walls were peppered with bullet-holes, and insulation peeked out through several gaping wounds in the structure. The kitchen chair that had been used to take Cole out was entirely discombobulated, and stray pieces of plywood lay mangled on the linoleum floor. The kitchen table was on its side, surrounded by a scattered dusting of splinters. The polished brown wood was coated with scorch marks. Several cabinet doors hung limply off of their bent hinges, and a particular bag of cereal had exploded all over the counters. Porcelain plates lay smashed in their cupboards, and the solitary kitchen window was nothing but an empty frame. Shattered glass was sprawled threateningly on the floor, glittering menacingly in the early morning light. In a final, almost comedic movement, the refrigerator gave one last groan of defeat and roared down towards the kitchen floor. It hit the linoleum with a sound akin to that of a sonic boom.

"Good, because I have, too," Jay coughed out, emerging from behind the fallen fridge as the dust settled. He waved the silver cutlass around to clear the aerial debris, causing Doubloon to tense from his position behind the remains of a destroyed chair.

Flintlocke hastily raised his pistol so that it pointed at Jay's chest.

"Try me," Jay taunted. "You'll never win."

Growling, the pirate lowered his gun so that it hung limply at his side, still clenched in his unrelenting grip.

"Giving up?" the blue ninja chortled, allowing himself to relax his guard ever so slightly.

"I think not," Flintlocke stated casually, directing his hand so that his pistol pointed at Cole's crumpled form. Surprisingly, the earth ninja had been unaffected by the chaotic firefight, and merely lay unconscious in an unmoving heap.

The lightning ninja struggled to school his features. "Like that will do you any good," he snorted. "Cole's a ghost. You can't kill a ghost. They're already dead."

"Can't I?" Flintlocke retorted, malice glimmering underneath his words. "He's off in the Land of Nod. He can't exactly regulate his solidity while he's out, can he?"

Jay scoffed, forcing a wayward quiver from his voice. "He's indestructible," he added in.

Flintlocke's casual smirk faded quickly from his face. In an instant, he was at Jay's throat, driving all the air from the blue ninja's lungs.

"Then you'll help me bring him back to the Captain," he ordered, tightening his hold on the lightning ninja's neck. "The more poor souls Nadakhan has, the stronger he gets. The two of you will make a fine addition to the sword."

"You're crazy," Jay gasped, vainly clawing at the hands locked around his airway. "I already told you, Nadakhan is just using you. He'll cast you aside like old laundry once he's got all the wishes that he wants."

"He needs us," Flintlocke shot back. "And he needs his bride, as well. Without us, he's nothing."

Jay's eyes bulged, his face starting to turn just about as blue as his gi. "You better not have hurt Nya," he choked out, his words gargled. "I'll kill you if you've laid a single finger on her."

Flintlocke merely cackled at Jay's furious threats. "You'll be dead," he stated firmly. "I grow tired of your incessant blathering. Surely the captain will forgive me if he misses the opportunity to have your soul. I'm certain he could do without it." As if to emphasize his words, Flintlocke pressed the barrel of his gun into Jay's chest. The blue ninja's remaining breath caught in his throat as his vision began to grow spotty.

"Even a bad shot couldn't miss this," Flintlocke whispered, his black eyes shining with rage. "Have fun in the Departed Realm."

The sound of a gun cocking echoed throughout the stillness of the kitchen. Blood roared in Jay's ears, adrenaline rocketing through his veins. In a last desperate means of escape, Jay kicked out at Flintlocke's legs.

The pirate's unmanly shriek of pain signaled to the blue ninja that he'd hit his target.

Flintlocke's grip on Jay's neck loosened almost imperceptibly, and the lightning ninja took that opportunity to gulp in a decent amount of air. His vision cleared, and his strength returned in a burst of electricity. Flintlocke screamed in agony as blue bolts of raw power streaked up his form. The pirate dropped like a stone to the linoleum floor, landing uncomfortably in a smattering of broken glass.

Jay crawled over to Cole and roughly shook one of the earth ninja's shoulders. "Can we get out of here now?" he demanded, putting an unusual amount of force behind his efforts to wake up his friend. "Mom and Dad's car is out front. We really should go."

In response, Cole muttered something about the population of orangutans and struggled to sit up.

"What happened?" he demanded groggily.

"You were knocked out," Jay explained flatly. "Come on, while those two bumbling idiots are occupied, we ought to leave." The lightning ninja jerked his head in the direction of Flintlocke, who was doing his best impression of a failed ballerina as he hopped around in the midst of the glass. Doubloon watched the display with nothing short of fascination spelled out on one of his faces.

"Knocked out…?" Cole repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes," the blue ninja snapped, feeling his patience begin to wear thin. His nerves were wound as tight as a bowstring, and he felt like the slightest inconvenience would make him lose it.

As Cole returned to full awareness, he blinked twice at the sight of all the destruction before him. "What in the world…?" he muttered, putting a hand to his aching forehead.

"I know, I know," Jay stated rapidly, tugging the earth ninja to his feet. "Flintlocke tried to hit something and ended up ruining my parents' kitchen. Whatever, we'll settle it in a lawsuit or something. But for now, we have to _go_." With one final pull on his friend's arm, Jay succeeded in getting Cole to his feet. While unsteady on his toes, the earth ninja made a valiant effort to amble over in the general direction of Jay's front door.

The lightning ninja followed closely behind, beckoning for his parents to follow. Ed and Edna, who had drifted over to the kitchen entryway within the last few minutes, hastened to fall in step behind their son.

As soon as all four of them were in the car, Jay roared at his father to 'gun it', and immediately received a lecture on proper driving ethics.

A loud bellow of rage emanated from within the Walker's mobile home.

"Get us out of here, Ed!" Edna demanded, leaning over and smashing the gas pedal with her hand.

All at once, the old jalopy sped forward, leaving an impressive column of dust in its wake.

Jay's parents settled into a familiar pattern of banter in the front seats as the car galloped its way toward the nearest highway.

Relieved, Jay turned to Cole, who sat keeled over in his seat.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jay asked worriedly, putting a hand on Cole's shoulder.

In a split second, Cole snatched up Jay's hand and held it in his own. In an almost delirious fashion, the earth ninja pressed it to his cheek. Startled, Jay sat frozen as Cole raised his eyes to meet Jay's.

"Never better," the earth ninja announced grandly.

 _His pupils are dilated,_ Jay noted with concern. It was brighter than a 1,000-watt light bulb in the Sea of sand.

"Now," Cole continued, "what time is it, Zap-trap?"

Jay hastily glanced down at his watch. "7:40," he supplied.

"Excellent," Cole tossed out, settling back against the plush leather of his seat.

Growing concerned, the lightning ninja cleared his throat. "So, Cole," he ventured. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Never better," the earth ninja repeated.

Unconvinced, Jay nodded and turned his head to stare at the passing sand dunes. He nearly jumped out of his seat as he felt Cole sidle closer to him.

"What?" he demanded shrilly as the earth ninja fixed him with an intent stare.

"I need to know…" Cole began, his earthen brown eyes uncharacteristically huge.

"Know what?" Jay mumbled, reaching out to give Cole a comforting pat on the shoulder with his free hand.

"I need to know what time it is," Cole finished, plopping back down in his own seat.

Jay's heart dropped. "How's your head?" he inquired hesitantly.

"That doesn't answer my question," Cole pouted.

"Just tell me," the lightning ninja pleaded.

"Fine," Cole huffed. "It feels like a volcano is erupting up there."

Jay groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked gently, upset by Jay's frustration. He let go of the blue ninja's hand and instead ran his fingers through his friend's unkempt, reddish hair. "Do you have a headache too?"

"No," Jay answered shortly.

Cole frowned.

"You, my friend, have a concussion," Jay admitted sourly as his parent's jalopy hit asphalt.

* * *

 **Concussions aren't fun.**


	7. Chapter 7: To Conquer and Vanquish

"I've read about those," Cole stated matter-of-factly. "They're some type of cognitive malfunction arising from head trauma." As if to emphasize his point, the earth ninja waved his arms around, almost smacking Jay upside the head.

"Now you're starting to sound like Zane," Jay bit out, brushing Cole's hands away from his face.

"Is that a compliment?" Cole asked innocently, shooting Jay an imploring look.

"I don't know," Jay answered honestly, shifting his gaze so that he was looking at the endless stretch of highway that ran before them. The sun was rising impossibly higher in the desert sky, and Jay could feel it beating down on his backside.

"I like Zane," Cole admitted congenially. "So I guess it's a compliment."

"Guess so," Jay added in gruffly, attempting to tune in on his parents' conversation in the front seats.

"Are you angry with me?" Cole tossed out suddenly, startling the blue ninja.

Jay spun back around to catch the earth ninja gazing up at him with the human equivalent of doe eyes. "Why would you think that?" he inquired, tilting his head to one side.

"You told me that I had a concussion and then you just… I don't know, looked angry." Cole explained, running a hand through his glowing hair.

"You shouldn't even _have_ a concussion," Jay roared, jabbing an accusing finger in Cole's direction. "You're a ghost! Can ghosts even _get_ concussions?"

"Beats me," Cole put in unhelpfully. The earth ninja shrugged his shoulders amicably, not at all affected by his brother's sudden outburst.

Jay dragged a hand down his face. "Some help you are," he commented sourly.

A small, sad smile encompassed Cole's features. "I'm sorry," he stated morosely, attempting to scoot closer to the blue ninja. Jay backed up against the metal door of the old jalopy as the earth ninja moved closer. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not," Jay jutted in tiredly, wincing as the hot steel stung through his gi and onto his skin.

Cole leapt forward upon catching sight of Jay's slight grimace, enveloping the blue ninja in his arms. Jay let out a rather unmanly squeak as Cole gathered the blue ninja to his chest and pinned him to the seat cushions.

"Get _off_ me," Jay demanded, squirming against Cole's tight hold.

"Where does it hurt?" Cole asked worriedly, darting his eyes around to look for any blood.

" _Nowhere_ ," Jay insisted.

"You were injured," Cole reminded him, desperation coloring his tone. "And so it has to hurt somewhere. I want to fix it."

"You already did," Jay assured him, sighing.

 _Note to self_ , Jay added in his thoughts, _ghosts with concussions are no fun_.

"But I was scared," Cole admitted.

Jay's heart skipped a beat. Cole was rarely ever truly honest about his innermost feelings. He normally wanted the team to see him as a physical representation of his element – strong, unbreakable, and practically invincible. To hear the earth ninja reveal that he was _scared_ … It made a small part of Jay want to run far away and never look back. "Of what?" he asked.

"Losing you," the earth ninja stated bluntly, ducking his head as a slight blush took over his cheeks.

Jay could almost hear the blood roaring in his ears. His heart prickled with some type of emotion that he couldn't place as he reached out and gently brushed a strand of dark, greenish hair out of Cole's eyes.

"You didn't," he told the earth ninja softly. "You saved me."

"You were in pain," Cole choked out. "I didn't like it."

"Yeah, well neither did I!" Jay tossed out, chuckling lightly.

Cole dug his face into Jay's chest, careful of the nearby bandages. "Don't do that to me ever again," he demanded. "I promise that I'll never let you get kidnapped again if you never get hurt ever again."

"I can't promise that," Jay protested. "I'm a ninja. I'm bound to get hurt eventually. It's all part of the job."

Cole shook his head fiercely, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "I won't let you," he stated decisively.

"You won't let me get hurt?" the blue ninja inquired curiously, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you can do anything about that."

"I can," the earth ninja insisted, raising his head slightly so as to fix Jay with a firm stare.

Jay smiled fondly, placing a hand on Cole's shoulder and nudging him to the side. The earth ninja reluctantly rolled onto the floor, allowing Jay to sit up and rub at his eyes.

"How far are we from New Ninjago City?" Jay asked his parents, leaning on the back of his father's chair.

"No more than a couple more minutes, son," Ed chirped, letting his gaze drift from the gray asphalt so that he could offer Jay an encouraging grin. "We'll be there in no time."

The blue ninja nodded once, satisfied. "You need to get us to the police station when we arrive," he instructed, reaching out a hand to prevent Cole from leaping out of the car. "I need to wrangle up some allies of ours."

"What for?" Cole piped up, leaning heavily on Jay's arm.

Annoyed, the lightning ninja attempted to wriggle his way out of the earth ninja's overly affectionate grip, but to no avail.

"We need to storm Djinjago," Jay explained with a sigh. "And without the others, we don't stand a chance against Nadakhan and his motley crew. We'll be needing help."

"Alright!" Cole bellowed excitedly, tugging incessantly on Jay's arm. "I get first dibs on Nadakhan!"

"No, you don't," the blue ninja interjected. "He's _mine_. I need to make my wish and heroically rescue Nya, remember?"

"Very heroic," Cole echoed dazedly. "But I want to fight Nadakhan."

"Do you have a personal vendetta against the creep or something?" the lightning ninja questioned, exasperation swimming in his peerless blue eyes. Cole's mindless rambling was really starting to get to him.

"Yes," Cole growled. A sinister, murderous look crawled up his face.

Jay involuntarily shivered at the sight. He was certainly glad that he was on Cole's _good_ side.

"We can see the city now, dear!" Edna announced grandly, spinning around in her seat to poke at her son's uninjured shoulder.

Jay whipped his head around to catch sight of several clustered skyscrapers standing proudly in the distance. Cyrus Borg's telltale, misshapen headquarters loomed over the other buildings, almost as if it was providing a giant arrow for the two ninja to follow. The sun was positioned directly behind the twisted structure, and Jay had to shield his eyes against the brightness.

The old jalopy sputtered giddily along the smooth asphalt, picking up speed as it neared New Ninjago City.

Jay allowed his tense shoulders to sag with relief. They were going to make it.

"Looks like Flintlocke and his pitiful band of miscreants failed to give chase," the lightning ninja announced haughtily, crossing his arms over his chest. A triumphant smirk edged its way into his expression.

"That's one way of putting it," Cole murmured nervously.

"What do you mean?" Jay shot back, narrowing his eyes.

In turn, the earth ninja began frantically gesturing at the horizon.

"Give me a break already!" Jay groaned. Through the sweltering heat of the desert, the lightning ninja caught sight of two solitary motorcycles rapidly gaining on them.

"Not a problem," Cole laughed maliciously, drawing one of his gold katanas. The earth ninja climbed atop the back of the rusting jalopy, only swaying slightly as he steadied himself.

Jay reached for his own weapon, faltering slightly when he remembered that it wasn't there. He'd left Doubloon's silver cutlass back at the junkyard.

"Blast it," the blue ninja muttered angrily.

"Come at me, you sorry excuses for pirates!" Cole roared, brandishing his sword with a confident air.

The distant hum of motorcycle engines gradually intensified until Jay was certain that he would go deaf from the noise.

"Your katana!" he screeched, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Cole, I need your katana!"

The earth ninja didn't seem to hear him.

Jay's heart dropped straight down to his shoes as Cole let out an animalistic war cry and launched himself off of the back of the car, cannonballing onto Flintlocke's ride.

The pirate shrieked, startled, and veered the motorcycle dangerously to one side. Its front tire hit sand, and the vehicle started spinning out of control, catapulting stinging grains of sand in all directions.

" _Cole_!" Jay screamed, desperately trying to peer through the cloud of dust that masked the sight of his friend.

A roar of pain was all that answered Jay's call, and the lightning ninja felt relief course through him as he recognized the cry to be Flintlocke's.

Seconds later, the motorcycle burst through the windswept sand, sporting an elated ghost as its driver.

The jalopy careened forward, leaving an infuriated Flintlocke behind, literally in the dust.

Doubloon rocketed closer to the old car, and Jay caught sight of his foe's silver cutlass aimed high above the two-faced pirate's head.

Jay gathered his legs beneath him and prepared to fight, clenching his fists together.

 _No weapon? No problem_ , he insisted, attempting to drown out the cries of 'this is not good' that were clamoring for attention at the forefront of his mind.

Cole rear-ended Doubloon's motorcycle with his own stolen vehicle, yelling obscenities that Jay wished he couldn't hear.

 _Not that word_ …!

Doubloon spun his cycle around, and the tires screeched in protest as they rubbed against the burning asphalt.

Jay winced.

Cole swung off of the handlebars of Flintlocke's motorcycle and executed a perfect flip onto Doubloon's ride, leaving the other cycle to wildly swerve off of the road without its driver.

 _You can tell that he was a dancer_ , Jay thought sardonically. _But how is he doing all of this with that concussion of his_?

The flip was _almost_ perfect.

At the last second, the earth ninja's foot slipped, and he precariously wobbled over the edge of the small, leather seat as he fought to regain his footing.

Doubloon seized the opportunity and swung at Cole, hitting the earth ninja directly in the chest. Cole let out a gasp of pain and toppled backwards, barely managing to snag a quick hold on the front bumper, bracing his feet against the solitary headlight. The metal sizzled in the heat of the sun, but Cole barely felt it as his mind raced to come up with a way out of his current predicament.

The earth ninja's head pounded viciously, and not a single coherent thought drifted through his brain.

Jay stared desperately at Cole's frozen form, mind racing as he struggled to find a way to get Cole out of harm's way.

Doubloon snatched the handlebars back up, jerking them forwards so that the motorcycle was driving level with the old jalopy. With the black, threatening vehicle keeping pace with the Walker's car, Doubloon allowed himself a second to relinquish control of the cycle in order to take another swing at Cole.

Jay stalked closer to the pirate, balancing one foot on the edge of the doorframe as he contemplated jumping onto Doubloon's motorcycle.

Doubloon whirled his face around, and Jay took his chance.

The lightning ninja summoned a bolt of electricity and zapped Doubloon into oblivion, sending the unfortunate pirate skywards.

Without its driver, the motorcycle began to drop drastically in speed, trembling slightly as it swayed from side to side.

"Cole! Let go!" Jay commanded.

The earth ninja kept his death grip on the front bumper, arms clenched and jaw taut.

It was as if Cole's mind had just shut down.

"Cole, please!" Jay pleaded. "Cut the speed!" he cried, directing the furious demand at his parents.

Ed immediately complied, and the jalopy fell into pace with the motorcycle.

"Let go!" the blue ninja screeched, desperately trying to get through to his brother.

Cole lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Jay.

"Come on," Jay insisted, reaching out a hand. Relief tingled in the back of his mind.

Cole would be okay.

"Let's get to the city," Jay continued, feeling the need to keep talking. "And then we can stop Nadakhan _together_."

Cole kept his brown eyes trained on Jay's blue gaze. "Okay," he stated simply, letting go of the motorcycle with one hand. Refusing to let his strong grip falter, Cole tentatively stretched out his fingers, leaning impossibly closer to the lightning ninja.

"Almost there," Jay muttered, hanging over the side of the door as he reached out.

The motorcycle made a sharp veer to the right, and Cole dropped his hold, leaping forward and seizing Jay's hand in both of his own.

Grunting with exertion, Jay hauled the black ninja into the jalopy, panting as the two collapsed onto the faded seats.

"We should do this again sometime," Cole murmured deliriously, keeping Jay's hand tightly in his grasp.

It was almost as if he needed someone to hold on to.

"Please no," the lightning ninja groaned, straightening his blue gi with a flick of his wrist and maneuvering his tired body so that he was sitting up in his seat.

"You alright back there, son?" Ed called back.

Edna turned around to face the two boys, an exhilarated smile gracing her features. "I don't think those nasty pirates will be bothering you again anytime soon," she assured them, clasping her hands together.

"I wi-" Jay began, immediately cutting himself off.

 _Careful_ , he reminded himself sternly.

"If only that were so," Cole bemoaned, voicing Jay's own thoughts aloud.

"Good news, boys," Ed continued, not missing a beat. "New Ninjago City is just up ahead."

The two ninja turned their heads in unison to see the tall buildings lying directly ahead, mercifully blocking out the morning sun.

"We made it," Cole breathed, pressing a palm to his aching forehead.

Jay slung an arm around his brother's shoulder, offering Cole a grin.

"Nadakhan doesn't stand a chance," he practically sing-songed. "After all, what's more deadly than two battered and bruised ninja?"

"Nothing," Cole added in. "Because I'm ready to knock Djinjago right out of the sky."

"That's the spirit," the lightning ninja chuckled; his smile widening as the jalopy safely drove onto the familiar city streets.

Nothing could stand in the ninjas' way now.

Right?

* * *

 **Yeah, right.**


End file.
